Track the DNA Why

Cryptic notes about your DNA match will only confuse you later. Include details about the connection when you determine that relationship.

Your notes about a DNA match should indicate the complete relationship (if known) and how you determined that connection. If you were only able to determine part of the connection, indicate that. For example, if you determined the match descended from a specific grandchild of your 3rd great-grandparents, but you can’t determine the relationship with more precision indicate that and include how you came to that conclusion. If the notes field is not large enough for your complete analysis, put the analysis in a text document, save it, and reference it in the notes.

My preference is to include as many names in the connecting family line as possible–which means I have some cleaning up to do of my own results. These names will allow you to use the notes more effectively later.

In the illustration, I included the names of the common ancestors and the great-grandchild of those common ancestors through whom they descend. I should have included more names in the notes.